Dubnered down
Tuesday, May 16, 2006
Freakonomics turned out to be a disappointingly dull book, the final chapter, especially - an examination of the naming conventions among black and white low income families. If the book had been dumbed down any more it would have come in washable plastic for playing with in the bath.
The chapters were interspersed with extracts from Dubner's original New York Times Magazine article and they were the best bit of the whole thing.
Levitt's approach to economics obviously has merit. The conclusion that the provision of legal abortion after Roe vs Wade had the greatest impact on the declining crime rate was startling, well argued, and, on reflection, almost obvious. I'm just sorry that I then read the rest of the book expecting to be enlightened in equally powerful ways. The effect was the opposite: the impression of the power of Levitt's thinking became diluted by Dubner's prose and the mind-boggling unimportance of the subjects under discussion.
Enough.
The chapters were interspersed with extracts from Dubner's original New York Times Magazine article and they were the best bit of the whole thing.
Levitt's approach to economics obviously has merit. The conclusion that the provision of legal abortion after Roe vs Wade had the greatest impact on the declining crime rate was startling, well argued, and, on reflection, almost obvious. I'm just sorry that I then read the rest of the book expecting to be enlightened in equally powerful ways. The effect was the opposite: the impression of the power of Levitt's thinking became diluted by Dubner's prose and the mind-boggling unimportance of the subjects under discussion.
Enough.
